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MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



Mr. PresidetU and Members of the Illinois Press Association: 

It was a warm sultry morning on the lOtli lay of June last, when, at a 
few minutes before six o'clock, one of the ablest, most honored and influ- 
ential members of your Association breathed his Jast at his home near 
this city. The last few months of his life Lad been full of suffering, the 
result of internal injury sustained in his early manhood, and as tlie clouds 
which had partially obscured the morning sky were dispelled by the rays 
of the sun as it rose above the horizon, the calmness and quiet that per- 
vaded all nature appeared emblematic of the peaceful rest of him whose 
troubled life had just closed. 

"Men drop so fast, ere life's mid stage we tread, 
Few know so many friends alivo ris dead." 

By your invitation I come to-night to lay before you some " Memorial 
of the Life, Character and Public Services" of our common friend, brother 
and co-worker in the field of journalism, the late David L. Phillips, for 
sixteen years joint proprietor and editor of the Illinois State Journal. 
The limited time necessarily allotted to me for this purpose, will only en- 
able me to note briefly the more important incidents in his history and his 
more prominent personal characteristics. 

The family to which Mr. Phillips belonged was of Welsh origin, his 
grandfather on the paternal side having emigrated from Wales previous 
to the Revolutionary War. Of three brothers who came over together, 
one settled in Massachusetts and has descendants still living in the vicin- 
ity of Boston and Salem. Another penetrated into the Far West, and, the 
family traditions say, died in or about Cincinnati leaving no issue. The 
third found a home in Virginia, and from this branch of the parent-stock 
the Phillips family of Illinois are descended. John Phillips, its head, 
was born in Virginia in 1789, remaining there until he had reached his 
majority, when he went on a visit to a relative at Chillicothe, one of the 
earliest settlements of Ohio. The war of 1812 was at that time in 
progress, and the young Virginian joined in an expedition to reinforce 
the ingrate Hull, being chosen to a Lieutenancy. The war over, he went 
to Tennessee, thence to Kentucky, and finally, about the year 1816, to what 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



was then the Territory of Illinois, settling in the vicinity of Marion, then 
in Franklin county, but now the county-seat of Williamson county. 
Here he met and finally married Leannah Tippee, who was born in the 
vicinity of Nashville, Tenn., but Avhose parents emigrated to Illinois early 
in her childhood. 

David L, was the fourth son of this marriage, born where the town of 
Marion now stands, October 28, lS2->. There were thirteen children in 
all — eight sons and five daughters — of whom four sons and all the daugh- 
ters survive. In 1829 the family removed to St. Clair county, settling at 
first a few miles east of Belleville, and, although their home was changed 
once or twice, they continued to reside in St. Clair county, where the 
younger members of the family were born. The father (John Phillips) 
died there August 14, 1847, but the mother survived until October 14, 
IBVo, dying at the age of 78 years. 

In common with the mass of young men of that time, the subject of 
this sketch had only those opportunities of education afforded by the 
common schools of the period, which were none of the best; but gifted 
with an active mind and a strong thirst for knowledge, he made such 
good use of them by study during the winter, while laboring on the farm 
during the summer, that by the time he had attained to manhood, he was 
fitted to teach, and acquitted himself with credit in that profession for 
several years. About that time the learned and able Dr. John M. Peck, 
the distinguished pioneer teacher and preacher of the Baptist denomina- 
tion, was in the very prime of his manhood and usefulness, and from the 
seminary which he founded at Rock Spring, was exerting a vast influence 
upon the young men of the State, and even in other States. It was no 
doubt due to the direct influence of this able and gifted man, that at the 
age of 18 years, young Phillips was received into the Baptist church, and 
some two years later entered the ministry of that denomination with all the 
zeal and fervor peculiar to his youth and sanguine temperament. He 
remained in this profession probably eight years, teaching and preaching 
at intervals in St. Clair, Washington, Union, and perhaps other counties 
in Southern Illinois. In the early part of his career as a minister, he 
was married to Miss Charlotte Tate, of St. Clair county, who still sur- 
vives him, and the young couple began life together at Elkton, in 
Washington county. Mr. Phillips possessed elements which made him a 
popular pulpit orator, and it is not too much to say that his zeal, earnest- 
ness and enthusiasm had attracted attention to him widely in that section 
of the State. This finally resulted in his being called to take charge of 
the Baptist church at Jonesboro, where he acquitted himself with his 

usual ability. 

During his residence there the attention of advanced thinkers all over 

the country began to be attracted to the encroachments of slavery and 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



the efforts of its aclhereiits to control the politics of the nation. Mi-. Phil- 
lips, though a Democrat in politics, announced his opposition to the insti- 
tution, and the majority of his church, holding different views on that sub- 
ject, withdrew their supi)ort. About this time the Illinois Central Railroad 
Company were constructing their road through the State, and perceiving 
the abilities of the pulpitless young clergyman, offered him the position 
of paymaster in the construction department, which he accepted. He was 
subsequently transferred to the position of Land Agent of the Company, 
for their southern section, which he continued to fill, I believe, until the 
road was completed. During his connection with the Illinois Central, his 
duties led him to visit different parts of the State from one end of the line 
to the other, and he then laid the foundation of that extensive knowledge 
of individuals which, aided by a remarkably retentive memory, made him 
the personal acquaintance of more prominent men than almost any other 
man in the State. 

About 1854, having withdrawn from the charge of the church at Jones- 
boro under the circumstances narrated, Mr. Phillips became associated 
with the management of the Jonesboro Gazette, then, as it is now, a Dem- 
ocratic paper. At that time the controversy over the "Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill," removing the restriction against the introduction of slavery north 
of the parallel of 36 ° 30' — known as the "Missouri Compromise," — was 
at its height, and it was inevitable that a man of Phillips' temperament 
and impulses should be drawn into its discussion, and equally inevitable 
that he should take "-round against it. Into this contest he entered with 
all the fervor of an ardent, zealous nature. As a result he soon found 
himself arrayed against his party as he had previously been against his 
church. His partner withdrew and, for a time, the Gazette dispensed to 
its readers the most radical Republican doctrine, although the Republican 
party had not then been organized. 

It was at this time my attention was first attracted to the young anti- 
slavery journalist of Southern Illinois. Being then in charge of the Journal 
at Jacksonville, and in full sympathy with him on this question, I re- 
member well the impression that was made upon my mind by the power- 
ful articles in defense of the sanctity of national compacts and in vindica- 
tion of human rights which those two gallant champions of radical Dem- 
ocracy gave forth — Phillips, of the Jonesboro Gazette, in the South, and 
Dr. C. H. Ray, of the Galena Jefersonian, in the North. Occupying pre- 
cisely similar positions politically, they were strikingly similar in their 
modes of thought, close logic and vigorous style of discussion. They 
were, so to speak, the out-posts, the advance guards of the party then jusl 
marshaling for the conflict, and exercised a most potent influence in its 
organization. I speak of this in no partisan sense and with no j)uri)()se 
to appeal *o party spirit, but simply as the truth of history. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



. It was about this time that I met Mr. Phillips for the first time. This 
was at a Convention of Anti-Nebraska Editors of the State, held at De- 
catur, February 22, 1856, alluded to in an address on "A Quarter of a 
Century of Journalism," which I had the privilege of delivering before 
this Association, two years ago. In this Convention, participated in by 
less than a score of Illinois journalists, the preliminary steps in the or- 
ganization of the Republican party of Illinois were taken, and by it the 
first State Convention, M^liich met at Bloomington in May following, was 
proposed. Phillips was present at the Decatur meeting in full sympathy 
with its purposes and objects, and being recognized as the representative 
leader of the new party in Southern Illinois, he was made a member of the 
State Executive Committee. When the Convention met he represented 
his county in that body, was made the Vice-President for his District, and 
also represented the party as candidate for Presidential Elector on the 
Fremont ticket. Two years later (1858) he led the "forlorn hope" of the 
party as candidate for Congress in opposition to Hon. John A. Logan, and 
though defeated by an overwhelming vote, he demonstrated his ability 
upon the " stump" in such a manner as to attract to himself the attention 
of the whole State, as he had previously done by his advocacy of Republi- 
can principles through the press. In 1860 he was again a member of the 
State Convention, and was made a delegate to the National Convention 
at Chicago whicii nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency, bear- 
ing his full part in the events of that historical period. 

One of the earliest acts of Mr. Lincoln, after his accession to the 
Presidency, was to recognize the merits of the courageous leader of the 
party in Southern Illinois, by his appointment to the position of Marshal 
for the Southern District, to which he was reappointed in 1865, and 
which he continued to hold until Andrew Johnson's defection in 1866. 
The administration of this office during the dark and troublous period of 
the war, brought Mr. Phillips in close and intimate relations with the 
most trusted and confidential agents of the Government, and imposed 
upon him many delicate and responsible duties, in the discharge of which 
he was not found wanting in either ability, courage or integrity. 

It was in the darkest period of the war — at the close of the year 1862, 
after the defeats of McClellan before Richmond, when Grant and Sher- 
man Avere being baffled in their attempted advance towards Vicksburg, 
and when thousands were contemplating the experiment of emancipation 
of four million of slaves with gloomy forebodings — that Mr, Phillips be- 
came associated with the proprietorship of the State Journal, taking the 
place of Major W. H. Bailhache, who had been appointed a Quartermaster 
and gone into the field. My own connection with the editorial depart- 
ment of the paper had commenced in July preceding, and it continued 
without interruption to near the close of 1865. In that time it was my 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



fortune to meet Mr. Phillii)s almost daily aiul on the most confidential 
terms. In the Joukxal of December S, 18G2, announcing his accession 
to the paper, he said: 

"I am a cordial supporter of the present administration— as I would be of any 
other in this hour of trial and peril— and am in favor of employing all the means 
known to the Constitution and laws to supi)ress, elTeetually and forever, tiie ex- 
isting rebellion against the Government. 

" In the prosecution of the war, I recognize no distinction between Democrats and 
Republicans in arms against the assassins who are attempting to destroy the heritage 
bequeathed to us by our fathers, and seal up in endless night all hopes of human 
progress and human liberty. The meed of praise will be given alike to men of all 
parties who peril their lives for the preservation of that Government which we hold 
as a common trust to posterity. 1 am a Republican, yet I pledge my.self to no stereo- 
typed line of policy. The future is too dark and uncertain to define, with any de- 
gree of certainty, a political course to be pursued by any true lover of his country, 
other than so far as 1 have already indicated. * * * 

" I take my position without malice towards any member of my species, and fondly 
hope that my relations with those from whom I dillcr politically, may be personally 
kind, courteous and forbearing, leaving the stern weapons of truth, reason and logic 
to determine the questions at issue between us. 

"It should be the highest aim of the journalist, while he remains as true to his 
country as the eternal laws of gravitation, or the career of the sun to his course, 
never yielding to error or submitting to wrong, to write nothing which he, in after 
years, would "blot out, or which would needlessly wound the most sensitive. To 
pour oil upon the troubled waters of his country; to cement instead of alienate; to 
conserve rather than to destroy; to build up, and not tear down, should be the end 
and ambition of all." 

These patriotic and noble sentiments will now be approved by all, re- 
gardless of distinctions of party. They express views of the duty of the 
journalist which indicate his high estimate of the responsibilities of that 
profession upon which their author was just entering. 

But I must not omit to speak somewhat more fully of Mr. Phillips' 
public service and political life. That he rendered valiant and valuable" 
aid to the Government in a position of great difficulty and responsibility, 
was conceded in his reappointment 1?" President Johnson in 1865, in 
accordance with the well-known wishes and intention of his martyred 
predecessor. But he went still further, and was largely instrumental 
in raising and equipping the l09th Regiment Illinois Volunteers— some- 
times called the Phillips Regiment— which was organized at Jonesboro, to 
a large extent being composed of the sons of his former neighbors and their 
frien'ds. The fact that the record of this regiment was stained by treach- 
ery reflected no .dishonor upon him, but upon their teachers and leaders, 
who had imbued many of its members with unpatriotic sentiments. 

In the fall of 1875, with a view to benefitting the health of his son, then 
rapidly failing under the inroads of consumption, Mr. Phillips made a 
visit to California, spending some seven months in that region. He bore 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



with liira a commission as a Special Agent of the Treasury Department, 
empowering" him to inquire into the management of Custom Houses and 
Internal Revenue offices in that section of the^Union; and the manner in 
which he discharged that duty won the warm thanks of the Depart- 
ment, and placed it in a position to secure important reforms in the pub- 
lic service. During his stay on the Pacific Coast he wrote a series of 
letters to the Journal descriptive of places visited, scenery, climate, 
customs, public works, etc., which were subsequently issued in book form, 
and which impart a more vivid and comprehensive idea of that interest- 
ing region than can be obtained from almost any other source. My space 
will not permit me to quote at any considerable length from these letters, 
but extracts might be presented showing that their author was as much 
in advance of public sentiment on some of the social and industrial ques- 
tions now exciting discussion on the Pacific Coast and elsewhere, as 
he was when battling against slavery twenty years before. The follow- 
ing extract from a letter bearing date January 1, 1876, has a touching 
significance, which, in view of his recent death, will justify a quotation: 

"Since my last letter was finished, another year has been numbered with the 
unreturning Past. Its joys and sorrows, its successes and failures, its lights and 
shadows, are all garnered in the storehouse of Eternity. Each of my readers and 
the writer of these Pacific Coast Letters stand another year nearer the portals of the 
Unknown. But, through the infinite goodness, mercy and wisdom of God, while 
our steps may be sobered and our gray hairs increased, we are permitted to looli out- 
ward and onward to the end, stimulated by hope and unawed by fear; standing in 
the right as it is given us to see it, and rejoicing in the evening glories of the nine- 
teenth century. Renevving my faith in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood 
of Man, from the shores of the Pacific I send to my readers and the tens of thou- 
sands of good friends and loved ones of and about whom my thoughts are busy to- 
day, my ardent, earnest wishes for a Happy New Year for them and theirs." 

And this from one of the closing paragraphs of his last letter: 

"To the greetings of our friends and for the cordial welcome back to the place of 
our appointed labor, for the words of sympathy and kindly regret in our failure to 
secure returning health for a son soon to pass away, we can only say, repressing 
almost uncontrollable emotion, we than* you, and may God bless you all!" 

And, now, the writer of these pathetic words has himself passed through 
the "portals of the Unknown." All Hail, and Farewell! 

This visit, though temporarily beneficial to the invalid, conferred no 
permanent benefit, and a few months after his return, he died — his death 
being a source of ; great sorrow to Mr. Phillips, as the loss of a favorite 
daughter had been a few years before. 

Previous to 1871 Mr. Phillips devoted some two or three years to the 
construction of the Belleville & Southern Illinois Railroad, acting as 
President of the Company and^ evincing a practical business talent and 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



sagacity of a high order. His practical knowledge of railroad matters was 
surpassed by few Avho had not made that dei)artment of business a life- 
long study. 

In the fall of 1876, Mr. Phillips received the Republican nomination for 
Congress in this District, and the canvass which he conducted — though 
unsuccessful in the face of an overwhelming adverse majority — is gener- 
ally conceded to have been one of the al)lest ever made by a candidate 
for Congressional honors in the State. His appointment to the position 
of Postmaster in the following year, by President Hayes, was a fitting 
recognition of jjublic services and sacrifices. 

With the exception of about two years between the close of 186.5 and 
the early part of 1868, up to his retirement from the Jouriud in 1878, it 
was my fortune to be associated with Mr. Phillips almost continuously. 
The opportunity I thus had of knowing our brother journalist has, 
I think, given me the right, as well as the ability, to speak of him 
as a man, as a journalist, as a politician, and as a public officer. 
In, all that period, our friendly relations were never interrupted 
for a moment. It was necessary that, in such a relation, there should be 
mutual trusts and confidences; in these he was never found wanting. 
Whatever may have been his imperfections — and he was a man, and no 
man is perfect — he was as true in his journalistic relations to those asso- 
ciated with him as he was patriotic in his political relations, and honest 
and faithful in the discharge of his official duties. 

Mr. Phillips was essentially a self-educated, self-made man. While, 
with the majority of the youth of his day, he possessed few advantages in 
early life, he distanced the great mass of his associates in the progress 
which he made and the results he achieved. He was entitled to all 
the more credit for what he accomplished, though his achievements were 
necessarily unequal. He possessed natural (jualities of intellect which 
fitted him for wide and profound research. His official duties during 
most of the period when he was associated with the public press, did Tiot 
permit him to engage in general journalism for any considerable length of 
time. His tastes led him rather into special fields. In these he was full, 
strong, comprehensive and exhaustive. Inclined t(t the discursive and 
florid in style, a strong and vivid imagination still enabled him to clothe 
his thoughts in a garb which never failed to command the attention of 
the reader, whether the latter agreed with him or not. He was never dull 
or prosaic — never wrote common-place merely to fill up the page, but his 
utterances came from a mind overflowing with living facts and arguments. 
Gifted with a memory that surprised those who knew him by its extraor- 
dinary sweep and tenacity, his miiul was the repository of an amount of 
knowledge of men and things, gained from reading and observation, 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



possessed by few men of bis time. I doubt whether his acquaintance Avith 
public men and facts in current history was surpassed by any man in 
the State. 

I have not sought to speak of our dead friend and former co-worker in 
the field of journalism in the language of mere eulogy, but in that of 
history and of fact. I should else do dishonor to his memory. And as 
we, as an Association, reverently and affectionately lay this feeble and 
imperfect tribute upon his tomb, let us do it with the feeling that — 

"Faith builds a bridge across tlie gulf of death, 
To break the shock blind nature cannot sliun, 
And land thought safely on the farther shore." 

In conclusion, I desire to submit to this Association the resolutions 
adopted by the members of the press of this city, on occasion of the 
death of Mr. Phillips, and I will thank the Secretary to read them. 



RESOLUTIONS: 



Adopted at a Meeting of Members of the Press of the city of Springfield, 
held at the Illinois State Register' oftice, Saturday Evening, June 19, 1880, 
to take into consideration the death of Col. D. L. Phillips : 

Whereas, Death has taken from among us the Hon. D. L. Phillips, for many 
years^most prominently and influentially idcntitied with the Press of this city; There- 
fore, 

Resolved, That, in the death of Mr. Phillips, the profession to which he recently 
belonged has lost one of its ablest and most honorable members; that the city and 
State have lost a high-minded and public-spirited citizen, and we an honored and 
valued friend. 

Resolved, That those who knew Mr. Phillips most intimately had the highest ap- 
preciation of his worth as a man and his ability as a journalist; that, as a friend, he 
was always true, earnest and faithful; as an opponent, manly, generous and forgiv- 
ing; as a public officer, honest and trust-worthy. 

Resolved, That while we tender to his bereaved family our kindest and most cor- 
dial sympathy, we congratulate them on the enduring monument he has reared by a 
life of activity and usefulness. 




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